Unlike the real invitations, I had a pretty exact idea in my mind about what I wanted for our save the dates. I feel like forever ago I saw this watercolor map and really fell in love with the idea. But overall, I wanted the card to look like a postcard from Nantucket: the map on one side and the information on the other. It turned out to be quite a process but I'm over the moon with how it turned out.

First things first, I needed a custom map. There are SO many artists out there who do these now -- some really good, some really not. I spent days searching for someone that was good, had the watercolor look I wanted and who was reasonably priced. You'd be surprised at how many people are charging $800+ for something like this! I wanted a map but maybe not that badly lol.

Then I talked it over with Andrew to make sure he was on the same page and laid out the options for our Save the Dates (truth be told, he did not see the vision I had in my mind and wasn't convinced this was going to look good at all). Emily makes watercolor prints but also computer made ones that are just as cute (and less expensive). Andrew liked the computer made ones when given the option and I liked the watercolor and he eventually said that he didn't care enough either way so watercolor prevailed!

From there, I filled out a quick form with the map places and images and Emily and I had a quick call to discuss logistics, timing and the map itself. She asked all the right questions, explained the process and said she'd have a rough sketch to me as the next step. On top of being really well organized, she has this really great portal that she sends everything through. You can take a closer look at the design, make comments and changes and approve the design there. Super easy!!

From there she started painting the layers. I was following along on Instagram and saw these pop up on stories and was like omg that is our house! that is our hotel! this is our map!! It was really fun to see. How she does it, is she paints the images individually, scans them and then puts them together on the computer. This makes for easier changes, more detail and I'm sure some sanity on her end not having to repaint the whole thing each time!

Then we saw the whole thing come to life! After a first round of edits, we ended up with this:

And one final round (changing two minor things) we finalized our map! I so love that she incorporated my ring into the map -- it's such a small detail that really was so special to me. I love my ring so much hahah!

From there, I started working with Minted to create our actual Save the Dates. We went with the Hepburn style after more and more searching. Fun fact: it's very rare these days to find a save the date without a layout for an actual image of the two of you. But (and this is what I love about Minted) you're able to really customize everything they have on their site.

I picked Hepburn because I liked the layout of the information side and I knew I needed something horizontal. It was really easy to customize and move font/text/formatting around on the site. From there, I placed an order and talked virtually with a Minted designer with my more custom wishes for the card. On the "back" there was only an option for a small photo with text on the bottom but mentioned that I would like for it to take up the whole card, sent her the raw file and she made it happen!

We placed the order (with the addition of these super cute custom stamps) and had our cards within the next week. The process of making these was so easy and really kind of fun -- I'm really excited to continue working with them for our wedding invitations!

Also, thought it would be fun to share some other bloggers who are engaged if you're interested and want to follow more wedding plans! Kate from Lonestar Southern, Sydney from Summer Wind (both ironically have fiancees named Andrew as well lol) and Katie from Katie's Bliss (engaged to a Nick) all have some great wedding content!

It's close to 1am and I was just finishing up and adding links to another scheduled blog post for today until I found out some BIG ...

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Covering the Bases is a fashion and travel blog based in New York City. Hoping to inspire everyone Work Hard, Dress Well and Travel Often.

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